mipmup.

post-holiday quiz.

i'm in kind of a post-holiday funk, so i thought i'd cheer myself up with a little quiz. care to join me?

what was your favorite this year?

1. gift given, store-bought: pet's eye view digital camera
2. gift given, handmade: peppermint bark with bittersweet callebaut chocolate and natural peppermint candy
3. gift received: sauté pan
4. memory: my mother allowing me to make the hot hors d'oeuvres for the very first time
5. tradition, new or old: i'm cheating on this one since it's a new one for 2009. i decreed that we'll get our tree on 18 december since we didn't get around to getting one this year due to hectic schedules, illness and various obstacles like our favorite lot closing early. it's a happy compromise between getting it too early and having it dry out and getting it too late and having it too short a time. and it's the date we were engaged, so it'll be something fun for us to do.

five ideas for creative, meaningful giving.

like most people, i'm in the throes of frenzied holiday shopping. each day, i receive over 200 emails (ahem, permission-based, too!) spotlighting the latest steals and deals. i've gone to about a dozen stores around town trying to give my very best this year to everyone i care for. time to take a break, so if you're all shopped out like me, take a gander at some of these creative ways to do something that really matters this time of year: supporting our do-gooders.

1. tisbest. give a charity gift card that your recipient can use to donate to the charity of their choice (over 200 so far). listen to the npr story.
2. women for women international. sponsor a woman survivor of war and give her the tools she needs to move toward self-sufficiency. one of my favorite charities.
3. mercy corps. support women in developing countries with one of several mercy kits. for the food enthusiast, choose the family garden kit that supports agricultural programs. for the animal lover, choose the camel or goat kit to provide better health care for livestock.
4. grameen foundation. donate and support programs that provide financing, technology and other resources through "micro loans" to very poor people, mostly women.
5. think green from home. yes, i'm on the waste management email list, too. (stop smirking.) this year, make sure all those batteries, old ipods and christmas tree lightbulbs stay out of the trash by ordering up a recycling kit.

quite possibly the world's best candle.

it's hard to get excited about something as banal as a candle, but i have. these 100% clean-burning soy candles by kobo are absolutely dreamy and extremely gift-worthy. the scents are present without being overpowering, creative and packaged deliciously. and just in time for the holidays, you can cross four people off your list with one fell click at burkedecor.com: four for $96 and free shipping (at $34 each regular price, you're getting one and then some free!). don't balk at the price; the packaging means you won't have to gift wrap and your gift will go from yawn to awe.

my favorite is the manchurian dragon fruit.